Feathers and Vampires
by Lazerwolf314
Summary: It's been three years since Fang watched Max be beaten to death. Fang never forgot or moved on. Now the flock had ended up in Sunnydale. Is Max really dead? This is a Hellmouth. Anything can happen. On HAITUS until further notice.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Sunnyhell

**I love Buffy and Maximum Ride and there arent many crossovers for them. So I decided to make one. Ha. Please read on and enjoy. Please comment on anything you like or dont like.**

**This had lots of Faxness later on. And Spuffiness. :D**

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_you don't remember me but i remember you_  
_i lie awake and try so hard not to think of you_  
_but who can decide what they dream?_  
_and dream i do..._

_i believe in you_  
_i'll give up everything just to find you_  
_i have to be with you to live to breathe_  
_you're taking over me_

_have you forgotten all i know_  
_and all we had?_  
_you saw me mourning my love for you_  
_and touched my hand_  
_i knew you loved me then_

_i believe in you_  
_i'll give up everything just to find you_  
_i have to be with you to live to breathe_  
_you're taking over me_

_i look in the mirror and see your face_  
_if i look deep enough_  
_so many things inside that are just like you are taking over_

_i believe in you_  
_i'll give up everything just to find you_  
_i have to be with you to live to breathe_  
_you're taking over me_

_i believe in you_  
_i'll give up everything just to find you_  
_i have to be with you to live to breathe_  
_you're taking over me_

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Fang POV

Max was dead.

I had watched helplessly as five goons had taken her broken and bleeding body away. They held me down as they beat her without mercy, never stopping even after she had passed out. They knocked me out and when I had woken up, I was at Dr. Martinez's house. No one had heard from Max since then.

That had been three years ago. I felt the loss every day. I was the only one in the flock who hadn't moved on. The first months had been a living hell. Angel, Nudge and Gazzy refused to believe that Max was gone, Iggy yelled at everybody when something in the house was moved and no one told him about it and I was quieter then ever. After I had healed from the wounds that I had been left with that day, I left the flock for a while. When I came back, Iggy had been taking care of things and they were just relived to have me back. I had only tried to kill myself once. Angel had found me and the look on her face knocked any thoughts of suicide away. I just couldn't do it to the flock. Max would have killed me herself if she knew.

Three years since my life became a living hell.

Three years since I smiled.

Three years since I cared.

Three years since I gave a damn.

Me and Iggy were now 17, Nudge is 15, Gazzy is 11 and Angel is 9 (though she keeps insisting that she's 10. I ignore her.) We had all stuck together after Max had died and had been through a lot. More fights had come and gone, and I was the official leader. The kids had appointed me the leader a few months after it happened. They were the only reason I stuck around. Max would've wanted me to. At least we had taken down the school about a year ago and there hadn't been mention of it or Itex since then. That was something.

I will never move on. She was one of the few bright spots in this world.

I will never love again.

After her death, Dr. Martinez had been nice to us and let us stay at her place. Jeb had vanished and nobody had seen him since. He had just disappeared the same way as when I had been 12. Idiot. The whole thing had been hard. Max's parents had had a funeral for her, but there was no body. I didn't go, it just didn't feel right. There was no proof that she was dead. Nobody forced me to go; they just watched me with sad eyes as I took to the skies. We had stayed with Max's mom for a few months before we were on the run again. The rest of that year and the two following it were filled with destroying Itex and what ever things they sent after us. There had been no mention of Itex for months and it was looking like it was actually gone. I hoped so.

Life will never be the same without her.

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"Fang, the kids are hungry. We should land soon." Iggy drifted closer to me jolting me viciously from my thoughts. I had zoned out yet again, enveloping myself in painful memories. Iggy was my right hand man and I rarely could find anything to get mad at him about. He and Angel were the only ones I let into my private hell. Well, Angel just shoved her way in.

I nodded silently and we began our descent. We were somewhere over California and we landed in a small town called Sunnydale. Some smart-ass had painted "home of the highest mortality rate in the U.S." under the town sign. Huh.

After searching the town for a grocery store, we found some cheap food and stole some other stuff then found a small forest to spend the night. The town had been eerily quiet as the sun set and there weren't many people on the streets.

We settled down quietly in trees and each kept to our self as we ate. I remembered a time when the time before sleep would be filled with jokes and throwing pinecones at each other. We would frig around until Max yelled at us to shut up and sleep and even then there were moments when someone decided to shove someone else from a tree. Now, we rarely ever stacked fists like we used to and everyone would fall asleep in their own thoughts.

I sat on my branch and kept watch. I don't blog anymore. Too many memories of Max joking about it. Sometimes I would go out and look for something to pound on. I've beaten my fair share of muggers and crooks. There were no more Mgeeks or Flyboys around so I made do. The fights helped me keep my rage bottled inside. My calm exterior is the only reason the flock hasn't gone mad. If I hadn't kept my head, there would've been many more breakdowns then we have had. Angel looks at me sadly every single day and I almost break. She knows what goes through my head and I'm sorry she has to listen to my thoughts. They make me go slightly insane.

The scream in the distance is like a dash of cold water in the face. All of the flock are instantly awake at the second scream and I'm already on the ground.

"What's going on?" Nudge asks. I have no answer; I just motion for the flock to follow me and to stay alert. I hear Gazzy quietly murmur to Iggy were we are but I ignore it. We exit the forest and end up in a graveyard. Great.

Up ahead, a small blond girl is kicking the shit out of a giant, evil looking dude. Crouched by a gravestone, another girl had tears streaming down her face. I rush forward to help but a large shape comes out of nowhere and knocks me down.

I easily roll from under the guy and I'm up in seconds. I lash out and my fist connects solidly with his jaw.

If this had been a normal human, he would've been down for the count; this guy just staggered backwards a few inches, shook his head as if to clear it and came rushing back hard. His face was all wrinkly and is eyes were a creepy, glowing yellow. The weirdest part was that his canine teeth were overgrown and looked exactly like fangs. I spin and back-kick, aiming for his face. The guy catches my foot and flips me. I use my wings to land on my feet. The yellow eyes widen slightly at the sight of my wings and I launch another round of fists toward his gut. He recovers from the surprise easily and he blocks most of the blows and returns with a lot of well placed ones. We fought, no one with the upper hand. I made sure the rest of the flock stayed back, they seemed to sense I needed this. Angel knew I had been thinking about Max again and she had probably told Iggy. They knew when to let me be. For that I am grateful.

The fight was even until the end.

After I had managed to knock him away and gather myself for the next round, the dude sprang with cat-like grace, pinning me to the ground. The dude had been flat on his back and he had still managed to pin me. He weighed enough that I couldn't throw him off and he had muscle on his side. I heard the flock's screams in the background and I could see from the light in the creepy yellow eyes, I was finished. He lowers his head to my neck (What. The. HELL?), his hands effectively pinning my arms and since I was on my back, my wings as well. Before his fangs (haha) could break skin, he suddenly dissolved into a pile of dust.

I sat up coughing. Again, I ask, what the hell?!? After I choked out a whole bunch of evil dude dust, I looked up to see the small blond who had been whaling on the other guy earlier, holding a sharp piece of wood in one hand and the other was held out to me. I took it. The girl hauled me to my feet; she was surprisingly strong for a human. Then again, she might not be human. The other girl that had been crying was gone and so was the other dude.

"Hey pet. Thought I heard something… who are they?" A man with bleach-blond hair stepped out from behind a headstone. The sudden appearance had me flaring my wings and the flock following me instantly, ready to do a U and A. Yes, it was stupid to show our wings like that but we still are very twitchy.

The girl didn't seem all that shocked at the fact we had wings and she held onto my hand like a vice to keep me from escaping.

"It's all right. It's just Spike. We won't hurt you. We're not exactly human either." That threw a wrench in my convoy. This girl looked like the head of a cheerleading squad or someone who should be studying for exams, not something inhuman. "That thing I just killed was a vampire. I'm a vampire slayer. See, not normal." The girl kept her voice calm and soothing. Probably trying to keep us from panicking. Smart move too.

I folded my wings tight to my back and watched as the flock did the same. The girl cautiously let go of my hand and I backed up toward the flock. The girl seemed slightly surprised as she got a good look at all of us and I was tense again in a second.

"Do you need a place to stay?" The girl asked.

_Angel?_ I sent a thought to our resident mind reader, after recovering from the shock of having a perfect stranger offering us shelter.

She screwed up her face before announcing all clear. _It's o.k. We can trust her. She knows all about weird stuff like mutants and there is something she's trying really hard not to think about. But she really wants us to stay with her. Except, I can't get anything from the guy._

"All right, we'll stay with you. What's your name?"

"Buffy. And this is Spike." Buffy pointed at the man. He was watching them with a strange expression on his face. I didn't like it.

"I'm Fang. This is Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel."

"My house is right through those trees. Come with me. Oh, and Spike? I'll talk to you later." A secret look was passed between Buffy and Spike. He turned and melted into the darkness. He seemed to become the night, even better then I have ever done. Creepy. Just then I realized Buffy hadn't told us what he was. She had said that they weren't human. What was Spike?

Buffy led us to her house were we met her sister, Dawn and Willow and Tara, two friends that stayed with her. Buffy let us all crash in the same spare room. Even though Angel had said that we could trust these people, it took forever to fall asleep and when I did; my dreams were plagued with memories of Max.

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**Hows that for a first chapter...**

**(The song was take me by evanescence.)**

**All I ask is for 5 reviews! Please,please,please! You can do it!**

**~lazerwolf314**


	2. Chapter 2: Slayers and Witches

I am sososososososososososo uber-freaking-sorry it took so long to come up with this even after I got over 5 reviews (by the way, major thanks on that. All of you get virtual cookies. Or pie. I like pie…)! Anyway, I finally finished this (even though I've had it nearly done for about a month) and I hope you like it!

Thank you demigod girls, CeleryRox, Hi!, GaaraHinataWake, QueenOfSmurfonia and EclipxedRose for the reviews. Love you guys.

**The other day, I was listening to Daughtry's Life After You and I've decided that it's the song of the chapter (I just don't wanna put the lyrics on. Look it up.) I was also doing math at the same time and I've decided that I really hate my math class. Or math in general. I don't like it. At all. Not one bit… Okay, as you can see, I'm a tad hyper so I'll stop. Read on, enjoy and review! *please :)***

**Disclaimer: I live in the middle of freaking nowhere. I have no life and I'm definitely not a dude. So this is all JP and Joss Whedon's. NOT MINE *sniff* (which freaking sucks by the way.) But the plot is all mine! Grrrr.**

Fang POV

We had woken to the sounds of clanging and banging downstairs. I was on my feet before I was fully awake, ready and tense. It took a moment, and Angel snickering quietly, to realize the sounds were coming from the kitchen. I glared at her; she smiled sweetly back, and I saw that the flock was still asleep. I crept to the door silently and opened it. There was no one in the hallway. Behind me, I heard Angel's stomach growl and knew it was time that I would start playing leader again. I really wanted to curl up in a dark corner and sleep but the flock came first. Max would've killed me if she knew I had slacked off. Just thinking of her made my inside tense and I felt a pang deep in my gut.

Shaking my head, I forced the depressing thoughts from it. I turned to the flock, who had woken up a few moments later and motioned for them to follow me.

From the smells coming from downstairs, it was breakfast. I started to drool slightly and tried to remember the last time I had a real meal. Something home-cooked. It had been at least a year when I looked back.

I led the way to the kitchen. A young woman, Tara I think, was cooking pancakes at the stove and the other red-haired woman was sitting at the island drinking juice. As soon as we entered the kitchen, Tara rushed over with a plate piled high with food. She shoved it into Angel's hands and gave her some milk, then pointed her in the direction of the dinning room table. Shocked into obeying, Angel hurried to a place at the table and sat down. She then dug in with the precision of a starving wolf.

"W-we made lots of f-food just for you. H-hope you l-like it." Tara stammered and handed all of us plates. We were so surprised that we followed orders without a thought. It was kind of pathetic.

In minutes, the food was entirely gone and Willow and Tara were staring at us in awe. Before any of us could say anything, Buffy walked into the dinning room. She glanced at our clean plates and snorted.

"Umm, Buffy, why were you thinking that it was really funny that we ate so fast and much and why didn't it shock you or anything?" Angel piped up from her spot.

A mask slid across Buffy's face. "You read minds?" She asked very quietly.

Angel nodded.

"Alright. It's because I haven't seen anyone rival me at eating in a long time. There's a rule in this house, that if you leave food unattended, its free game." Iggy and Gazzy snickered at this. "Angel, right?" When Angel nodded, Buffy continued. "No offense, but I really don't like people that can read minds. I had a bad experience with it once and nearly went insane. And there are some things that should stay in people's heads, where no one can know them."

Angel looked confused and ashamed at the same time and then she nodded in resolution. "I promise I won't read anyone's mind. Unless I have to." The effect was tarnished by her last comment. But Buffy seemed to accept that.

"Alright then. How long are you guys staying in Sunnyhell…dale?" Buffy asked as she sat in the last seat at the table.

The flock all looked at me. Oh just flipping great.

_Fang, these people seem really nice. And they'll accept us for our wings and everything. There's not a lot of things that freak them out, from what I can tell. Can we please stay? At least for a bit? _Angel's voice sounded in my head. I took a moment to think for a bit then thought to her, _ask everyone else._

There was a tiny pause then Angel flitted back into my head. _Everyone wants to stay. Please._

"We don't know how long we'll stay, but for a little while at least." I murmured to Buffy and all of the kids cheered. Iggy turned his face in my direction and nodded, letting me know that he thought I had done the right thing.

"O.k. Time for Sunnydale 101. I'm guessing you guys are stronger then normal humans, right?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." Was my curt reply.

"Alright, the thing you were fighting last night was a vampire. They are everywhere here, but fairly easy to kill if you know what you're doing."

"Buffy, I thought vampires were myths." Nudge spoke up from her place. Her expression was confused and a little dazed, but I could tell she was going to launch into a Nudge Channel blather mode. Before she could continue, Iggy snapped his hand over her mouth, just as it opened.

"So did I, but that was before I became a slayer. Then I found out that pretty much everything that goes bump in the night is real. Magic, demons, ghosts, even other dimensions. There are whole other worlds out there and none of them are as … nice as this one."

"What's a slayer?" Gazzy demanded, looking up from something he had been fooling around with. From what I could tell, he was obviously hiding something and I sighed. This leader stuff wasn't meant for me.

I stuck my hand out, glaring at the Gasman and he reluctantly placed something that looked like a mutated cell phone in my hand. Wires were spewing everywhere and the entire thing looked slightly demented. Buffy stared at what I held for a moment before turning to Gazzy. He smiled sheepishly. Buffy laughed softly then cleared her throat.

"Okay… A slayer is a girl that fights evil. 'Into every generation, a slayer is born. One girl in all the world that will have the strength to fight vampires, demons and the forces of darkness.' I'm the current slayer."

The whole flock looked slightly shell-shocked by all the information they were getting. I forced my face to become an expressionless mask, hiding the fact that I was impressed. Tara and Willow had come into the dinning room as Buffy had been talking and they leaned against the wall next to one another. Willow's arm went around Tara's waist and I dragged my gaze away. I didn't have anything against them, I just didn't want to be caught staring.

"Willow, would you like to show them something?" Buffy asked her red-haired friend.

"Sure thing!" Willow literally bounced forward from the wall and stopped beside me. Wondering what the heck was going on, I just sat there. Willow's hand rose in front of her and her eyes unfocused. She placed her hand over my fork and slowly began to move her arm. At first the fork stayed were it was, and then it started to rise off of the table. It followed Willow's hand like a puppy and when it passed over other things on the table, they began to float as well.

"Holy cow!" Gazzy murmured in awe. He looked innocently happy and joyful as he watched stuff float around. It had been a long time since I had seen him so happy, it made my heart hurt a bit. For maybe the first time in years, Gazzy looked like the young boy he was. After another moment, Willow began to lower stuff back onto the table. Her eyes refocused and she had a pleased smile on her face. She returned to her place beside Tare, leaving us all stunned. Even Nudge wasn't talking.

"I'm a witch." Willow pronounced. No. Freaking. Duh!

**Tada!**


	3. Chapter 3: Fledgling Bashing

**I am SO glad that school is finally out! I have been so hyper for the past few days that all I've been doing is running around and swimming. But today I finally sat down and started writing.**

**Thank you so much CeleryRox and GaaraHinataWake for reviewing the other chapter! Thanks so much.**

**Really hope you like this (because it took me a grand total of 15 minutes to write). :D**

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Fang POV

Loud thumping music. Teenagers dancing and talking. Kids drinking and playing pool. More loud music. Whispered conversations in corners. Flashing lights and dark shadows. What the hell was I doing here? Oh, wait. I knew. It was all Iggy's fault.

Iggy was the one who had convinced me that I needed to get out and do something. His solution, drag me with him, Nudge and Buffy to a club called the Bronze. It was a very dumb move on his part. Within three minutes of walking through the door, I was so twitchy and full of adrenalin, I was practically vibrating. I guess it was only Max and I that had really been affected by smallish spaces or places filled with people. As soon as I started thinking about her, I forced my brain blank. My mood didn't improve when Iggy ditched me at the bar to go dance with Nudge.

Angel and Gazzy were currently being entertained by our witch hostesses at Buffy's place. After Willow had shown us her magic, Buffy had spent the rest of the day teaching us about Sunnydale, how to survive here, what places to avoid and how to kill vampires. The entire flock had been fascinated by the whole thing. I had gone along with everything, willing to do anything to put thoughts of Max out of my head. Lately I've been thinking more and more about her and it wasn't sitting well with me.

A loud commotion from the center of the dance floor distracted me from depressing thoughts. I looked over, vaguely annoyed, just in time to see Nudge clock a guy in the jaw. I was on my feet in an instant.

"Jerk! Don't you dare touch me again!" She spat in the guys face (I was pleased to see that his lip was split and his nose was possibly broken) and stomped over to me, Iggy trailing behind her with a look of rage on his face.

"That idiot tried to feel my butt!" Nudge exclaimed as soon as she was close to me. "He just came over and put his hand on my ass!" I had never seen Nudge so pissed. It was slightly scary to see that the girl had grown up.

"What happened?" Buffy had weaved her way over to us and she had a look of concern on her face.

"That jerk just touched Nudge's butt." Iggy was nearly vibrating with anger. I wondered what was up with that. I mean, he knew that Nudge could take care of herself… didn't he?

It was abruptly too much for me to take. The whole drama had sapped the last of my calm and I was now hanging onto control by a thread. "Ig, I gotta get out of here. I'll see you back at Buffy's." Before Iggy could answer, I had turned and bolted for the nearest exit. I didn't stop running until I was at least a hundred feet from that place. Then I shoved my hands in my pockets and started to walk aimlessly.

When I finally came back to my senses, I was in a graveyard. And the dirt from the grave directly in my path had started moving. Oh just freaking great. I go for a walk and end up facing a vampire. This was turning out to be an extremely crappy day. Well, fighting something might improve my mood. Maybe.

Buffy had explained that the only way to kill a vampire was to expose it to sunlight (not happening at the moment. It was past midnight), cut its head off or jab a wooden stake through its heart. Well, I didn't have an awe or sword with me so it looked like option numero three. I trotted over to a nearby tree and snapped off a good-sized branch then returned to the grave.

By the time I got back, the entire top of the vampire's torso was free from the dirt. It was a larger guy and his eyes glowed yellow with rage when he glared at me. I just stood, waiting.

As soon as the vamp was free from the soil, it charged me. Of course it did. Buffy had also told us that vampire fledglings were generally very dumb and didn't have any common sense, only focused on finding a victim. This one was no different. As soon as he was in range of my stick, I waked him upside the head. He went flying sideways with a comical expression on his face. I felt the brief sting roll up my arm and the corners of my mouth twitched into an almost smile. _Let's play Whack The Idiotic Vampire_, I thought to myself.

The vamp was on his feet in seconds and he charged. Again. And again I repeated exactly what I had just done. Three times I did this before Dumb Dead Guy finally figured out what was going on. Of course that's when two other vampires tackled me. I had been so preoccupied with my game; I hadn't bothered to look around me. Which had been extremely stupid.

The two goons that had tackled me held me down while a third vampire approached.

"What do we have here? A young man that seems to have been attacking my fledgling. Well, we will have to punish him greatly for that, little ones." The head honcho vamp was dressed in clothes that looked like they had come from the 18 hundreds. Well considering he might actually be that old, they could be.

I struggled uselessly against the iron strong grip of my captors. Head honcho gestured for Dumb Dead Guy to come over. "You are probably very hungry, young one. Why don't you take the first taste?" The leader murmured to DDG. DDG look positively gleeful at having a part in my imminent demise. The idiot actually cackled. Little bugger.

Well, this might actually be the end, I thought to myself. I'll die in a graveyard, bled to death by a couple of freaking vampires and won't be able to say goodbye. I continued to struggle even as DDG lowered himself by my head and bent his own to my neck.

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**R&R (please!)**


	4. Chapter 4: Blue and Gold Eyes

**Thanks everyone for being so patient with me and waiting for me to finaly update. Your reviews and comments give me reason to write, so thanx! Special thanks to Shojo-Chan, Valkyrie-ShapeShifter666, Alanna, GaaraHinataWake and CeleryRox for commenting on the last chapter and thanks to all who have faved this.**

**Anyway, I came up with this last night, after having this really weird dream. I had been having major writers block, so I stayed up half the night writing when i thought of it. Please enjoy!**

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Fang POV

I closed my eyes as the vampire's fangs approached my neck. I had no more fight in me, and even if I did, there was almost certainly no way I would get out of this alive. I felt awful about leaving the flock behind, but they would move on (hopefully), they had to. And I wanted to see Max again.

Suddenly a black blur slammed into the vampire that was on top of me and forced the vamp to go spinning away. The two vampires that were holding me down jumped up and looked around frantically while their master snapped orders to attack. There was just one problem. They couldn't see what had attacked the fledgling. In the confusion, one of the lackeys stepped on me, knocking to wind from my lungs. I rolled on my side and tried to haul air back in.

I could only see the master vamp from my position and he was growing increasingly panicked. It was almost funny to watch. Almost.

Another blur appeared from nowhere and suddenly one of the lackeys went flying over my head and landed with a sickening thump against a nearby grave-stone. There was a long moan and then silence. He didn't get up. I eventually took a deep breath and immediately felt better… and very dizzy. I sucked in more air and struggled to sit up just in time to see the other goon dissolve into dust. A small branch clattered to the ground and there was no one behind it. I blinked in surprise.

A yelp distracted me. I whipped around to see a tall man with bleach-blond hair crouched in front of the head-honcho. The man cocked his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of a scar on his left eyebrow. The leader vampire fell to his knees and started begging. I could see pure panic on the vamp's face and confusion flashed through me. What was it about the blond man that had this old vampire so scared? And couldn't a vampire take out any man easily? Then it occurred to me that the man might not even be human. The blond haired man's fist shot out and connected solidly with the leader's solar poleaxes. He went flying backwards and landed in a heap. Another figure leapt out of the shadows and picked the vamp up and launched him back to scar-guy. I couldn't see the other persons face. When the vamp landed, scar-guy picked him up by the scruff of the neck and whispered a few words in the guy's face. Then he produced a stake from nowhere and slammed it home. The vampire exploded into thousands of little dust pieces.

I finally got to my feet and walked cautiously over to the bleach-blond man. "Thank you." I said.

The man just looked at me for a moment before muttering in a very awesome British voice, "What in the bloody hell are you doing out here?" Taken aback by his harsh tone, I blinked. The second figure trotted over to us and hopped up onto a grave-stone. There was a hood covering the person's face. He or she simply perched on the stone and crouched, staring at their hands.

"I was taking a walk." I answered defensively.

"A walk through a graveyard in the middle of the bloody night? You were lucky we heard what was going on or you would have been another meals on legs for these ones." The man snapped.

"My name's Fang. Not that you asked." I retorted sharply. I already didn't like this guy, but he had saved my life and I wanted to know who he was.

When I said my name, the hooded person's head snapped up. I looked over, trying to see a face, but it was still obscured in the shadows. But I could see his or her eyes. One was a pure gold and the other a cobalt blue that was so bright, it was nearly glowing. I shuddered. A small keening noise came from the direction of hooded guy. It sounded like raw pain.

The blond man's head whipped over to stare at his partner. The man's blue eyes were worried as he stared into the strange bi-coloured eyes.

"I'm Spike." He replied absently.

I opened my mouth to say something but then decided against it. Spike seemed to be occupied with staring at the person on the grave-stone so I turned and walked over to where the branch that had killed the second goon had fallen. I picked it up and headed quickly over to the first goon was lying unconscious and moaning softly. I didn't hesitate. I stabbed his heart and was instantly coated in dust. A powerful rush ran through me and I felt better than I had all night. I could almost see why Buffy would enjoy this so much. Other demons and things I wouldn't want to face, but I was certain I could take a vampire and I would have earlier if I hadn't been so distracted. I swore internally again at myself for being so dumb.

I picked my way around graves and came back to stand in front of Spike. He wasn't staring at the gold and blue eyed person, just watching me. The glowing eyes beside us were completely focused on me and I felt a shiver of something travel down my spine. Why were these strangers so focused on me?

"Alrigh, Spike. How did you know those guys were vampires?" I asked.

"Good, at least you aren't a total idiot." Spike muttered to himself. At least I hoped it was himself. "I smelled them."

I cocked my head and studied him quizzically. He didn't look like any demon or enhanced human. Before I could say something, Hooded Person tipped their head back and began to stare at the moon. The hood slipped from her face and I finally got a look at who this mysterious and very creepy person was.

It was Max.

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**Luv you guys. :D**

**~lazerwolf314**


	5. Chapter 5: Damaged

**Thanks to my beta CeleryRox and all reviewers. You all get virtual cake. :)**

Fang POV

I stared. And stared. And stared some more. I blinked hesitantly, praying that this wasn't a hallucination, at the same time hoping it was. I had had some before, back during the first few months of Max being dead. _Possibly dead_, I reminded myself. Every time, I had believed that she was back, that she wasn't dead, only to have my hopes crushed again and again. That's when I stopped caring.

When I reopened my eyes, Max was still there, staring at the sky. But now I began to process the differences. First were her eyes. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes were gone and replaced with the strange bi-coloured ones. Her hair was now cut to around her ears and stood out in spiky and matted tuffs. Her face, always showing off her inner emotions, was blank and almost dazed and had streaks of dirt on it. She wore black jeans and a dark hoodie; both were dirty and torn in many places. I couldn't see her arms, but there were long and jagged scars that began just below her chin and disappeared under her clothes.

"Max?" I croaked out. Max's eyes flicked my way and held my own for a second. There was a glimmer of something in them, but then Max faced the sky again. I felt my knees give out as I finally realized that she had been alive, all this time. And hadn't come back. Spike watched dispassionately as I hit the ground. He looked from me to Max and back again.

"You know her?" He asked. I could only blink at him. He sighed and half-dragged, half-carried me to a nearby gravestone. He set me down on it, none to gently, and stepped back. He glared at me expectantly.

I nodded mutely.

"Grish naw rollm. Ut ma." Max mumbled. It sounded like completely gibberish to me. But Spike frowned, so I assumed he had an idea of what she said. I was too busy staring at her in wonder and sadness to really notice. As I stared, anger seeped through the shock. I began to shake from long suppressed rage. I leapt off of the stone and stalked towards her.

"You've been alive all this time and didn't come back? Didn't even tell us? How could you do that to the flock? To me?" I yelled at her and I was about to say more before Spike swore at me and I could've sworn his eyes flashed yellow.

"You bleeding idiot, alive is hardly what she is anymore." He snarled in my face. I stared at him, angry and confused.

Max suddenly jumped from her gravestone and tried to catch a butterfly that flew over her head. She missed and began to chase it around the graves, hopping after it in weird little jumps. She looked exactly like a kitten and a piece of string. She was making strange little growling noises as she jumped after the bug and hissed in annoyance when it danced out of her reach. Then it hit me. This wasn't the Max I knew. She was damaged in some way I couldn't have seen before.

"Whoever she was before they got to her is gone, boy. She isn't who you remember and never will be again." Spike said to me, watching as Max crouched and sprang, finally catching the butterfly. She held it lightly between her hands and studied it. Her face had a childlike expression as she stared at the bug in pleased wonder.

"Oh my god." I whispered. There was a loud crack behind me. I turned to see Iggy burst through the woods, followed by Nudge and Buffy. Nudge spotted me first.

"Fang, you're okay! Thank god. We thought-" Nudge froze, mid-word and mid-step. She stood staring at Max for a couple seconds before lurching towards her.

"MAX!" She yelled. Spike snarled in her face and I instinctively readied myself to protect Nudge. A fist came out of nowhere and sent me flying backwards. I landed in a heap and stared at Max, who was crouching protectively in front of Spike and growling at me. Spike straightened and stepped back, with Max following him, somewhat reluctantly. Nudge looked frozen, staring up at Spike, completely still.

"Nudge, what's going on?" Iggy cried. His sightless eyes where jittering around in their sockets as he tried to figure out what was happening. I slowly got to me feet, holding my ribs. I was fairly certain they were bruised, maybe broken.

"Spike, who is that?" Buffy asked, eyeing Max wearily.

"Well, luv, this is Max. She was in the same cell as me in the Initiative." Spike looked away at that comment and I could barely see the repressed shudder. I saw Buffy's face harden and become more caring at the same time when Spike said "Initiative".

"Fang, please tell me what's happening!" Iggy nearly moaned in agitation. I couldn't answer him. To say that Max was here would make it real, not some bizarre hallucination, although I was still wondering if I was dreaming. She had been alive all this time. Different, mentally deranged, way stronger then she used to be, but alive. The butterfly she had released hovered in my face before disappearing into the dark.

"Hrak!" Max mumbled before jumping onto a rock. She stood there and stared at Spike for a moment before launching herself into the air. She snapped open her wings and I received another shock when I realized that they too had changed in color. The amazing tawny brown and cream was gone and in its place were silver, black and red feathers. I watched her as she rose higher and higher then blinked my way out of my daze and crouched to take off after her.

"No! Don't you move boy." Spike hissed at me. He stalked over and held me fast when I tried to shake him off. By the time I had shaken him off, Max was long gone into the sky.


End file.
